Small Quaternary Carnivores from southern Taiwan

• Main Authors: CHI, TZU-CHIN, 紀子勤
• Other Authors: HSIEH, MENG-LONG
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2019
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/p8kqgu

碩士 === 國立中正大學 === 地球與環境科學研究所 === 108 === The riverbeds of Tsai-Liao River and the limestone cave in Kenting contain rich mammalian fossils of southern Taiwan, among which the carnivorous fossils are the most distinctive. In general, the numbers of carnivores are rare, but there are special habitats options that can often be used as indicators of the ecological environment. In this study, we studied the molar and premolar and compared them with the current species to identify the species classification of carnivorous fossils. The results of identification showed that in there were animals such as Hog badger (Arctonyx collaris), Herpestes sp., otter (Lutra lutra), leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) and Viverridaehe riverbeds of Tsai-Liao River in the middle of the Pleistocene. In the limestone cave in late Pleistocene Kenting, there was a ferret-badger (Melogale moschata). The Hog badger, Herpestes sp., and the large-sized Viverridae are the extinct species in Taiwan. Their living environment requires forests to provide hiding. The appearance of otter reflects the large number of water links in this area. However, the leopard cat prefers an environment in forest and grassland boundary, so it is speculated that the Tsai-Liao River was an environment with both water links and grassland plus forest at the same time. With the discovery of the ferret-badger fossil, we speculate that Kenting used to be a wide area of forests, shrubs and grasslands. These small carnivorous fossil records reflect the characteristics of the paleo-ecological environment and can be applied to the thinking of modern biological conservation, providing valuable and important information for the conservation of species and the environmental needs of introducing the original species which were extinct.